Pessimists say that the family is eroding. Optimists say the family is diversifying. Both points of view are right. Families are m...ore diverse and they are more in trouble--but not because of their diversity. The families of today--whatever their size or shape--are in crisis because our economy is failing, our national resources are shrinking, and our governmental policies to support them are inadequate.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »

The naturalistic literature of this country has reached such a state that no family of characters is considered true to life which... does not include at least two hypochondriacs, one sadist, and one old man who spills food down the front of his vest.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »

... what's been building since the 1980's is a new kind of social Darwinism that blames poverty and crime and the crisis of our yo...uth on a breakdown of the family. That's what will last after this flurry on family values.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »

Like plowing, housework makes the ground ready for the germination of family life. The kids will not invite a teacher home if beer... cans litter the living room. The family isn't likely to have breakfast together if somebody didn't remember to buy eggs, milk, or muffins. Housework maintains an orderly setting in which family life can flourish.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »

Like many another romance, the romance of the family turns sour when the money runs out. If we really cared about families, we wou...ld not let "born again" patriarchs send up moral abstractions as a smokescreen for the scandal of American family economics.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »

The politics of the family are the politics of a nation. Just as the authoritarian family is the authoritarian state in microcosm,... the democratic family is the best training ground for life in a democracy.LESSATTRIBUTION DETAIL »